The Old Head

That trainer is Gavin Cromwell, operating out of Navan in County Meath, and the yard is having a remarkable season. Ninety-eight winners so far this campaign is not a number you reach by accident — it speaks to a well-organised operation that spots opportunities and fills them. Horses leaving Cromwell's yard tend to be fit, well-placed, and ready to go, which makes The Old Head's second-place finish on debut all the more encouraging. It was not thrown in at the deep end and forgotten about.

With only one race to its name, run just yesterday, there is very little to go on — but that is almost the point. The Old Head is at the very beginning of its story, backed by a trainer in the middle of a seriously productive season. The next run will tell us a great deal more.